A Hero is Never Alone
by Do we suck lemons or eat them
Summary: What would happen if, due to circumstances, Satoru's coma lasted only for a year and he was still a kid? Can he continue living in the past or will he forget about the future? Just a cool idea to read. Also, spoilers. (DISCONTINUED)
1. Mystery Solved

A Hero is Never Alone

Chapter 1: Mystery Solved

There were too many things wrong with the scene being made before Satoru's bright blue eyes: a possible killer hiding inside an ice rink, Misato running to the bathroom by herself and Gaku Yashiro just so happened to come to the ice rink during all of this commotion? This made too many theories circulate around the boy's head and increased the already large fear inside his heart. Was Yashiro the killer? Then again, he said he'd come to support Hamada and the school at the hockey championships so maybe that's all there was to it? Not willing to let the chance of saving Misato slip by because of his suspicions, Satoru quickly ran to the bathroom.

Checking for anybody suspicious, Satoru approached the ladies room like a smooth and quiet cat sneaking towards a rat. He then crept through the door and silently walked into the "forbidden zone". Despite being a 29-year-old man inside the body of an eleven-year-old boy who knew whatever he was doing would get him into SO much trouble especially when it no doubt involves his mother, Satoru wanted to leave no stone unturned and so observed the toilet door locks. Only one said 'OCCUPIED', resulting in three empty toilets that he could hide in.

As long as he stayed here, Misato would be safe. The thought gave the boy some relief as he chose the toilet closest to the entrance. Leaving the door open for a little gap to form and see through, Satoru stood there, keeping watch of the entrance. His ears picked up some of the things Misato was saying to herself, things like her stomach not feeling good or how she was gonna miss Hamada playing. But then Misato started talking about her so-called 'friends'. "Stupid A-ko, calling me a weirdo. She's the one who won't stop talking about her gross feet," Misato blabbed on. "And B-ko making me her servant for a week? What the hell? Ever since that dork Satoru had yelled at me, nothing's been going right for me."

Satoru's right eyelid twiched at response to the 'dork' comment but instantly forgot about it after Misato continued her rant. "But I guess that makes sense. After all, Satoru and that Kayo loser are pretty much a couple, through and through. So if anybody teases one of them, the other will bite back," said Misato with a sad smile on her face. "I wonder how that must be like. Two people who can talk to each other, hold hands and share secrets. Seriously, the two must have it all."

As Satoru listened, he remembered how he was back before the last two Revivals. Back when he wasn't outspoken and loud, leaping into the fray as he was now. Alone and quiet, trying his best to get his manga work serialized and lived his days without much passion. He doesn't exactly know why he was like that but, seeing it after saving three people's lives and on the way to save three others', it seemed too different to his current self. The lifestyle he had was almost pessimistic aside from the occasional Revivals and that still didn't lift the mood most of the time or change his mindset for that matter. That was because he didn't have a reason then, a purpose to save those people other than the excuse of doing the 'right thing'.

But what did it mean, doing the 'right thing'? Just saving their lives was enough of a reason, postponing their inevitable demise? Most people would say 'yes' but Satoru has already been through that stage before and moved on from it. Now, what was his reason? Saving his own skin was too cowardly and acting in the name of justice was too arrogant. Either one didn't fit his personality nor his actions.

Something sparked inside the boy's mind. Maybe the reason is because I want people have their lives, the boy thought, go however THEY want, no matter what fate said. It seemed simple enough but, for the man who travelled through time, the reason resonated with his spirit more than anything in this world.

This must be what's different now: his reason for fighting. Satoru's heart swelled with pride, knowing what he must do. Confident, the young man thought up a new plan:

First, he would save Misato.

Second, keep the kidnapping away from the middle school.

Third, solve the mystery and have the culprit locked up for life.

Finally, say his last goodbyes and return to his time.

The sound of rushing water brought him out of his thoughts. Misato was finished in the toilet and started cleaning her fingers. Trinkling down from the tap, splashes of water echoed inside the room, reminding Satoru of the tight situation he's in. Thankfully, no-one entered inside and it's just the two of them. Now that he thought about it, the boy realized how creepy this scene was. Watching out for an intruder when he already is one.

When the echo of water splashes grew silent, nothing was heard aside from Misato using the paper roll, tearing out the paper and folded the pieces into little squares. Satoru waited, listening to her footsteps as she left through the entrance. After another couple of seconds, Satoru surveyed the area and pulled out a pen that his mother gave him, in case some girl wanted his "phone number".

He began to think everyone liked teasing him about his love life. First it was his mother, then it was Airi and now most of his friends had done it too. Sometimes, he'd wish he would suddenly become deaf so he wouldn't hear any of it but he knew somehow they'd still find a way to tease him about it.

Ignoring the humorous intent, the pen served a very impotant purpose. Ripping a slip of paper out from the roll, Satoru quickly wrote on the paper like there was no tomorrow and neatly folded it so nobody would see the ink. He then dashed out of the bathroom and out the entrance. Looking to his right, the boy saw Misato's small figure as she crossed corners.

He called out to her, "Misato! Stop!"

Her back was rigid and stuck in place, showing her williness to comply and listen.

"I need to give you something," said Satoru, handing out the piece of paper. "Could you turn around, please?"

Misato hesitated but shook it off, slowly moving to face him but, once she did, gave him a mean glare. Her spiteful dark-brown eyes bored holes into his blue eyes. She definitely hated him, that much wasn't hard to tell.

He held his hand out, moving it up for Misato to take the folded paper. It was only after she took it from him, Satoru continued speaking, "If anything happens, show this to my friends." His eyes turned fierce as he maintained eye contact with her. Her eyes became less spiteful and turned confused. Misato nodded anyways, feeling this was more important than she initially imagined.

Satoru smiled gently and walked away, turning his back towards her. When Satoru was out of sight, a mischievious smile formed on the girl's lips. Curiosity getting the best of her, Misato unfolded the paper in no time and began reading. Slowly her lips turned from a sneaky smirk to a confused frown and then her lips parted with her eyes wide from shock. She read the words on the paper outloud, "'I'M GOING TO BE KIDNAPPED. IMMEDIATELY CALL THE POLICE AND DON'T TELL MR. YASHIRO.'"

Lifting her eyes up from the paper, Misato went to confront Satoru about the paper's meaning but frozed before she crossed corners when she heard his voice. And heard whose name Satoru called out.

"Mr. Yashiro! So happy to see you. Were you looking for something?"

Despite her silent pleas, another voice replied which was no doubt her teacher's. "Ah, Satoru," said Yashiro with a lollipop in his mouth. "No, I was just taking a breather. What are you doing here?"

"I came because I was worried Misato might be abducted. I've noticed she's been by herself lately and I decided to help her out."

"Hmm. Not sure I'm okay with you not telling me about this, especially since you're all by yourself," grumbled Yashiro, chewing on his lollipop harder than he was earlier. "Did you see anyone unusual, maybe doing something weird?"

Satoru paused, thinking about Misato hearing all of this. This was his chance, a way to warn her of Yashiro's strange behaviour that's been troubling the boy ever since he saw the teacher's collection of lollipops. Where would he get that many? And why? An older, childless man buying lollipops all for himself and he's not going to give any of the lollipops to his students? Far too suspicious.

"No, not at all. But I'm confused. What am I looking for? I mean, the only people who know about the kidnapper are us. We haven't called the police, too." Satoru was hoping Misato could understand what he's saying. Little did he know, Misato was already long gone, filled with disbelief at the revelation.

At that moment, Satoru could hear the loud sound of a car's engine starting, with Yashiro being very surprised. The expression on the teacher matched a man whose patience has reached its limit, similar to the face he made when Hinazuki came to school with darkish purple bruises located on her legs and neck. He seemed truly furious.

"The kidnapper's getting away! Come on, Satoru!" With that order, Yashiro quickly ran outside.

This wasn't supposed to happen. Now having second thoughts, the boy was stunned by Yashiro's grim expression, never expecting the man to make a face like that. Why was he chasing after the car? Isn't he the killer? Actually, was there any proof comfirming he was? Everything the boy came up with was all based on his own feelings. Maybe it was paranoia getting to him? The suprise worn off as soon as it appeared, knowing it wasn't time to be shocked by any of this.

And so, the boy followed soon after, taking a ride in Yashiro's car. Distracted by his concerns, Satoru didn't think as to why a teacher would ever tell his own student to follow after a criminal.

Some time after...

Whilst the chase was on, daylight dwindled and darkness covered the sky. It was 30 minutes after they left the ice rink and it doesn't look like the culprit would be stopping anytime soon.

Satoru felt the car seat rumble and jolt in rhythm to his racing heartbeats. But it was Yashiro's constant finger tapping keeping Satoru on edge. There was no pattern to it, sometimes he would tap twice, thrice and four times and switch over. The last time he did it was also the last time Satoru was inside this car. This made Satoru very worried as it made him feel uneasy around the teacher.

The driveway up ahead was connected to a tunnel, which confused Satoru. The tunnel itself led to a nearby city despite Satoru's theory of the killer living nearby his victims. If the killer really lived in the nearby city, why come to the park where Hinazuki usually resides in? Who would be so determined to kill, they'd come to a small town like this one?

Entering the tunnel, Satoru looked to Yashiro, expecting reassurance from the man as he usually provided. Instead, Satoru had something far worse. The calm face wasn't there, only a small, ominous smirk appeared. But the eyes, the eyes were terrifying. Maybe it was a reflection of the streetlights but the eyes seemed to glow bright red. Bloody red, that is.

"Little Satoru." Even his voice sounded different. Full of restrained anger as if he tried holding everything inside but was beginning to explode. "Do you know why the kidnapper kept failing?"

"It's because the rat who kept ruining his plans was right under his nose the entire time."

Without a second to spare, Satoru Fujinuma knew he was undoubtably fucked.

As soon they left the tunnel, Yashiro spun the driving wheel, forcing the car off the driveway and drove onto the sidewalk where he hits an old man. The old man flipped upward on the vehicle, leaving a huge, blood-covered crack on the windshield and rolled across the roof. The teacher continued driving, this time towards a frozen lake.

Satoru gasped as he tried unbuckling his seatbelt to no end. "Hopefully, his life insurance covered car accidents," said Yashiro with a dark chuckle.

"You bastard! You are crazy!"

"No. The one who is crazy is the one who tried to solve this case by himself, nothing to save him." Yashiro slowed the car down to a couple miles per hour and let go of the wheel. "There's no use in fixing that buckle. That is stuck for a reason."

Still struggling, Satoru quickly understood, "That's why you had all of those lollipops. You left chewed bits inside and had them melted."

"That is true, although I really do enjoy biting into them. Don't you?" Mocking the boy, Yashiro unbuckled his own seatbelt. Slowly pulling off his gloves, Yashiro leaned in and grabbed the boy's face, caressing it gently. "So smooth, like silk. Despite that disgusting look you're giving me, everything about you fascinates me. It makes your death all the more interesting to watch."

Satoru tried to bite the man's hand off but Yashiro pulled back just in time. "Yikes. That determination really is scary." Stepping out of the slowly moving car, Yashiro cooly walked away.

Terrified, Satoru did everything he could to get out: unbuckling the seatbelt, opening his door, checking the glove box for anything helpful and kicking the window. But they all failed. Turns out the child safety lock was on, bringing a whole new meaning to the word "irony". The glove box only had sleeping tablets and he wasn't strong enough to break the window.

Frustrated at the predicament, the boy screamed wildly, crying out for help.

No-one came.

Then he cried out for Kenya, Kazu, Kayo and even Misato.

No-one came.

He cried out for Airi.

...

"Mom..." The boy cried. Hot, wet tears dripped down from his eyes to his cheeks. He didn't care how ridiculous he was acting. He just wanted to be saved.

"Wait, Mom... She gave me a–" Satoru gasped. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his pen. "This has to work."

Holding the seatbelt buckle steady, Satoru hit the stuck button with his pen a couple of times. Another few more times, the seatbelt loosened and showed some progress. Finally, after two more hits, the boy was free! Unfortunately, the car had began falling into the lake. When the car dropped, Satoru braced himself for impact.

Feeling his entire world turning upside down, Satoru was floating inside the car for a few seconds. Then gravity came back to his world and pushed him down hard into the glove box. The airbag suddenly exploded out above the box and moved the boy back into his seat. Hitting his head on the glove box gave Satoru a concussion and was on the verge of fainting.

However, the icy, cold water underneath wouldn't give the poor boy a break and, after breaking the cracked windshield, flooded the inside of the vehicle. Between the harsh, cold water engulfing his body and the flaming hot headache practically burning his brain, Satoru felt like he was in Hell.

But before he'd lose the strength to fight, flashes of his memories rapidly appeared in his mind. The drowning boy couldn't make any thought about the memories but a few flashes repeated inside. They were memories of his mother, Airi and Kayo. Each one of them was smiling in every flash.

But then they changed.

Flashes of his mother's corpse, lying inside a pool of her own blood. With a knife digging deep inside her back, tearing her lung open and filling it with her blood. Her dead eyes left open.

Flashes of Airi crying out to Satoru as he's being taken by the police. Saying she screwed up and that she was truly sorry. The young girl's bloodshot eyes with tears running down her face had constantly appeared into his mind.

And then, as the strangest out of all of them, flashes of Kayo crying at the sight of her breakfast. Satoru didn't know why she cried at the time but the look on her face and her struggle to speak coherently made him realized how truly depressing her life was. It was at that moment that Satoru decided he would make her life better.

His eyes opened wide after remembering his reason for fighting: "I want people to have their own lives go however they want, no matter what fate said."

Using every little bit of energy he had left, Satoru opened the driver's door and quickly swam out of the lake. Getting his head out of the water gave him air to breathe in but also made his brain feel frozen and yet squishy, similar to a slushy. Using the amazing skills of the doggy-paddle style to swim across the lake, the boy crawled albeit sluggishly onto shore.

Shivering and deathly pale, the boy also had a massive headache and was barely half-conscious. The winter wind and snowfall made it worse for the poor child.

Nearly fainting, Satoru suddenly woke up after he was picked up from the collar by Yashiro who was PISSED. Maybe because of the water almost drowning him, causing the boy to hallucinate, Yashiro's eyes becoming fiery red all of a sudden and the heavy shadow that covered his face made him seem less human and more demonic-like.

"How are you still alive?!" Yashiro growled with monsterous ferocity and muderous intent.

All Satoru could say before he'd passed out was, "I saw your future."

No longer having the strength to control his anything, the boy's body went limp and his eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness. Before his eyes rolled back however, he could've sworn he saw blue and red lights flashing from a distance.

THE END


	2. Remains

A Hero is Never Alone

Chapter 2: Remains

Darkness.

Pitch-black.

There were no lights or colours.

With nothing to see, Satoru Fujinuma had no clue where he was. The scary thing about it was there's nothing he could do. His small body was too heavy, forcing the boy down and unable to move even a finger. Inexplicably, the huge weight crushing his body was the one thing he could feel. No ground to touch, no wind blowing, nothing warm or cold either. As if he's reached a whole new plane of existence and couldn't run away from it, Satoru was certainly stuck.

There was no sound, obviously. With these puzzling facts making the most sense out of this bizarre predicament, all Satoru did was wait.

Waiting for the strength of this heaviness to weaken.

Or maybe it becomes worse?

The answers were unknown, but the boy knew this couldn't last forever. This paralyzed state had to disappear sometime soon.

But how long would it take? A minute? An hour? A day?

It suddenly appeared then.

Colour. The darkness became painted with emerald green, giving Satoru a sense of comfort and peace. Erasing all the previous fears within his struggling mind. Yet it seemed as if he's felt this a long time ago.

A new colour had exploded out of green: blue. A vibrant blue, filled him with a gentle warmth and granted him everlasting serenity. This was all too familiar.

Another colour arrived but this wasn't like the others.

It was red.

An explosive red.

Packed with an animalistic anger and has a terrifyingly cold touch.

The weight lost all of its strength on his limbs and chest but focused on the boy's neck, choking him slowly. The need to breathe was becoming stronger as every second passed. Satoru felt his will to fight shrinking without any sign of stopping.

The colours had a similar conflict, clashing over who can prevail out of the three of them.

Various flashes of colour resulted in green fading away, leaving blue by itself against red.

But soon, red had vanquished blue and flooded the place in its colour.

And then...

When all else failed, a white, glimmering light shined down from up high. Its light was a sharp blade, piercing the red sea around the boy and blinded him with its intensity. In disbelief and torment over how bright this new colour was, Satoru closed his eyes.

And after he opened them, the red sea, the darkness and the blindingly bright light were gone along with the agonizingly painful weight on his neck. Not understanding how or why, Satoru's eyes darted in every direction, taking note of his new surroundings. There must have been a mistake but it appeared as though the room around him was flooded with the colour white.

White curtains. White ceiling. At the very least, pale flourescent lights.

He's willing to bet the clothes he has on are white, too. But the return of touch and sound made him forget about it as they truly belong here. Electronic beeps echoed inside the room, coming from the machines beside him and allowed Satoru to accurately estimate how large the room was. It also made him realize where exactly he was.

A hospital room.

It almost made him laugh. Him, inside a hospital? Must've been his Revival getting him into trouble, again. Wasn't having a time-travelling ability supposed to save you at the most dire of situations? Not send you into one? Satoru wanted to know if there was anyone else in this world that had the same problem. If not, he must have the most rotten luck.

At that moment, the boy noticed three things. First, his bed was dreadfully uncomfortable, feeling more like a stack of bricks covered in a woollen blanket. On his list of beds to lie down on, a stack of bricks was most certainly not one of them.

Second, despite having his sense of touch, Satoru's body wouldn't move on command. This wasn't paralyzation, rather his body felt like a solidified pool of jelly with little pebbles for muscles. Whatever this was called officially, it didn't matter. The point was he can't move his body.

Lastly and most importantly, a tall figure was found sleeping on the bottom of the bed, next to his right leg. The figure indicated an older woman, with her long, shiny blue hair tied up in a ponytail and her sweater looking homemade, having her familiar initials stiched onto her collar: "さ(Sa),ふ(Fu)". Actually, her appearance and initials not only looked famillar but her voice sounded familiar, too. Her light snoring and tiny grumbles filled Satoru with nostalgia, answering his inner questions. After all this time, she's here. With her beloved son.

For someone who had an impeccable sense of timing, his mother, Sachiko Fujinuma, didn't hit the mark this time.

There were so many things he wanted to say. How he loved her. How he's sorry for all the trouble he gave her. And, most of all, his Revival ability, explaining why he had been acting so weird.

Attempting to reach out to her, Satoru couldn't as his body wouldn't listen to him, lying stiff despite the touching reunion. Concentrating on the thought of hugging his mother, the boy tried moving his right leg just to nudge her head a bit. Easier said than done, Satoru realized, as the leg was practically frozen on the spot.

Said?

Perhaps that's another way. Satoru didn't know how long ago since he last spoke. He wasn't even sure it would sound the same.

He opened his mouth but only a whisper came out. "M-Mom..." His mother didn't hear it.

He spoke a bit louder this time. "Mom..." She was moving a bit but still sleeping.

Louder, Satoru called out for her, noticing his voice cracked. "Mom." Sachiko grunted, clearly getting upset of the attempts to wake her up.

This time, it felt like he was screaming. "MOM!"

She couldn't ignore it now. Waking up, his mother slowly moved her head. Forgetting about sleeping and stretching her arms out, Sachiko's eyes were finally open. Putting her head on her right arm and looking directly at her son, she squinted, thinking her eyes were still tired.

But when she let her eyes see her son again, Sachiko had all the hair on her body stand up straight. Can you imagine how it would feel to have your child nearly die and fall into a coma for a year? To wish everyday they'd wake up and hug you?

A parent shouldn't have to suffer like this. Yet Sachiko didn't care for she was filled with an indescribable joy that overshadowed any doubt or sadness she could've felt. She had her son back.

She rushed over to the boy, holding him tightly. Tears running down her face, she cried out his name over and over. "Satoru," said Sachiko in between short but heavy breaths. "Satoru. Satoru, my little boy. My boy." Not holding back any of her strength, the poor, suffering mother hung onto him for dear life.

Satoru didn't mind. He wanted to hug her, too. Its just he never saw this side of her, this vulnerable, fragile woman who looked like she could collapse any second now. Unlike the freakishly strong, amazing yokai mother he knew.

All he could do was cry on her shoulder.

THE END


	3. Healing

A Hero is Never Alone

Chapter 3: Healing

Sweat dripping down his chin, a young boy struggled to walk inside a rehabilitation room. He struggled because he had slept for a long time and nearly forgot how to lift his own feet. Considering how thin and pale his body had become, this was not suprising. Thanks to his supportive mother, who encourages him to become stronger, he has gone into rehabilitation to hasten his recovery. Despite the repetitive nature of his trials and errors, it bored an undeniable flame into his eyes and gave him an intense desire to succeed. There was also a burning passion that kept growing stronger and fiercer inside his heart with every step he takes, making him relentless in his pursuit of recovery.

This boy was Satoru Fujinuma who got out of his coma only two weeks ago. The coma itself lasted for a whole year, understandably weakening his physical and mental strength. Since his awakening, he constantly got reminded by his doctor how long it would take to regain his full strength. "Two months," his doctor said. "As long as you take the daily exercises and eat right, you'll find yourself out of this hospital with nothing holding you back."

What a joke, Satoru thought, placing his hands on the two steel railings made to help his training. There's no way the walking and breathing exercises and diet can help the boy find all of his strength in merely two months. That was impossible, no matter how you look at it. The boy lifted himself and began pacing towards his wheelchair.

"Hey, Mom?" Satoru asked, sitting down in his wheelchair after a good hour of the walking exercise. "Why do you think the doctor would lie to me about my recovery?"

Directly opposite to her son, Sachiko sat in a red lounge chair, opening a lunchbox she brought for just the two of them. "I wouldn't call it "Lying". He simply exaggerated the details. Here's lunch."

She handed him four triangular-shaped chicken sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, mayo and carrot peelings inside. Satoru graciously accepted the food. "Thanks. I still think two months is way too soon for a full recovery. Even I can tell that." The boy despite his concerns happily munched on his sandwiches, throughly enjoying the soft and tender chicken and the creamy mayo that blended the lettuce and carrot peelings together in perfect harmony which was all layered with two scrumptious slices of cheese and bread. He should be worried about becoming addicted since this was the seventh lunch he had with the sandwiches but he didn't care. It was THAT good.

Sachiko herself didn't complain about her sandwich but then she pulled a plastic bottle of soy sauce out of her purse. She squeezed the sauce onto the chicken and ate the whole sandwich in two mouthfuls. "Mmm. Delicious."

"Why would you put soy sauce into a sandwich that has mayo inside?" Satoru asked, deadpan.

"Because soy sauce is good with anything," She replied with confidence. "Everyone knows that."

He was about to talk back but quickly closed his mouth, deciding to let his mother win this round. They had similar conversations like these in the past with not-so-pretty results. Namely, one loses their dinner for the night. You can guess who lost all of the time.

They spend the next few minutes in silence, eating their lunch beside the room's entrance. Finished, Satoru asked if he could have a break and take a breather in the botanical gardens outside. His mother nodded and waved him off as he left the room.

"Oops," Satoru said, wheeling back to the rehabilitation room. "Almost forgot. Love you." He then leaned in to kiss his mother's cheek.

"Aww, my baby," Sachiko cooed and kissed him back on the forehead. "Have a good time."

"Thanks, Mom."

If their past selves could see them now, they might think this type of behavior was strange and so unlike them. For this intimacy would be a dream come true for Sachiko and a huge embarrassment for Satoru. It is however unfortunate of what it took for their relationship to get this far, nearly losing each other thanks to one serial killer.

Gaku Yashiro.

The last time anyone's heard of his name was when news reports based on his attempted murder on Satoru were made on national television about eight months ago. Thanks to the media rallying against him, Yashiro became a public menace throughout all of Japan with many parents calling him "The Epitome of Evil". His actual trial lasted only 15 minutes and was quickly given seven years in prison.

Even though most of the country celebrated the day after his sentence, Sachiko didn't at the time as she sat next to her son with nothing getting her attention. Nothing ever did. Even when she was given presents and support from all the parents and their children in her neighbourhood, their voices were blocked and replaced with the electronic beeping of the heart-rate monitor and her son's soft breathing. And every time she would look away from her son, the fear of losing him again crept back into her mind and flooded her senses with visions of the heart-rate monitor going silent. It was a very dark time for the mother. To tell her son about it was very hard too and yet she gained a bit of relief, knowing it was her son that was listening. She didn't lose her son and that became enough to throw the visions away.

Satoru would not understand exactly how that felt but on some nights, he'd sit up in his bed and stare out of his window, wondering how his mother would've been if he was stuck in the coma for more than just a year. Would she make it? he'd asked.

As Satoru thought back to those nights, the distance between him and the gardens grew shorter and shorter. The botanical gardens was a nice, peaceful and quiet place that Satoru frequently visits on late afternoons. In there, huge arrays of beautiful flowers of various bright colors had covered nearly every bit of greenery as far as the eye could see, appearing more as a painting than anything else.

This wasn't the reason why the boy visits. Instead, it was the light breeze that would come in every now and then, brushing the flowers against each other and change the scenery right before his eyes. Walking alongside these flowers on the concrete pavement reminded him of walking through a crowd. Everyone moving in all sorts of directions and passing by each other. It was full of people but it felt lonely similar to his Revival. He would meet and save many people but they would be strangers in his eyes. The same way flowers in the same breed look identical to each other. It was surreal.

Then something caught his eye. A different colour in a group of violets. A one 'Green Rose' flower, so out-of-place and so beautiful. Hilariously, the flower's aligned with the first row of violets and in the middle, giving off a sophisticated and unique image despite being the odd one out. Struck with its beauty, Satoru reached down and picked the flower. He admired the flower and took a strong liking to it.

"Satoru?"

The boy turned around, expecting to find his mother. Surprisingly, it was someone else he knew. A girl his age, standing before him with a happy yet sad smile. She was Kayo Hinazuki, one of his best friends.

A stunned expression remained on Satoru's face before he slowly returned Kayo's smile back to her. "Hello, Kayo," Satoru said, his eyes welled up with hot tears. "It's great to see you again."

Kayo's eyes became wet, too and reflected the sunlight, shining a glamorous gold before they faded back to her honey brown eyes. Overjoyed, she dried her eyes, pointed her finger and said, "Can we continue on that bench over there?" Satoru nodded, wiped his tears and followed her. That's when he noticed a flower in her right hand. A Green Rose. She also picked one too!

After she got comfortable in her seat, Satoru quickly made conversation. "How have you been? Do you have a good life? What's been happening? Have you got yourself some friends now? What school do you attend?" These sudden questions startled the girl, who backed away after his barrage of words and question marks. With no more questions asked, the boy laughed sheepishly and looked down to his fist.

He knew this was too much to ask her but who could blame him? After all, the last time he saw her was after Kayo's mother, Akemi, was finally caught as the wicked woman she is and lost custody over her daughter. Also, if the boy's memory wasn't failing him, Kayo moved to her grandmother's house who seemed like a nice enough lady to both Satoru and his mother.

He softly smiled at the memory. Back then, he was so happy about his tiresome efforts making a difference in both his and Kayo's lives and thought to himself that things would only get better. Satoru's smile vanished instantly, facing reality once again and gripped the wheelchair's arm rest tightly. Of all the outcomes he thought he'd get, getting stuck into a year-long coma wasn't one of them. So much he missed out and so much he wanted to share. How was that fair?

Kayo noticed his grim expression and became worried. "What's wrong?"

Her voice, quiet and gentle, stopped Satoru and vanquished any negative feelings he had a second ago. What is he doing? This isn't the time to walk down memory lane! He has a chance to reconnect with the girl after so long ago. He couldn't ruin it now. "Sorry, I was just thinking about... about..." Satoru fell silent with his brain trying to find an appropriate answer. "I-I was just thinking about... how... pretty you look now?"

A long, hushed pause formed between the two as Kayo's face turned vermillion red and Satoru silently gasped at his own words. Before the conversation could go potentially haywired, Kayo broke her silence and asked, "A-Are you stupid? Seriously... *mumbles*"

"What did you say?"

"I-I s-said, 'What d-do you like a-about me?'" Kayo stammered.

Now it was Satoru's turn to blush. "Well, well... Um... You look less pale now? I mean, your skin is a bit more fair due to living much healthier now."

Kayo nodded. "I see. Anything else?"

"Of course! There are four more... uh, features that I haven't mentioned!" Despite his claims, this was all done at the spur of the moment. Maybe he shouldn't continue with this little game but seeing Kayo's expectant expression made it impossible for Satoru to refuse. Studying her face one more time, the boy picked out two things that seem different. "I'm not sure if this is new but your nose twitches sometimes and makes you look more like a hamster. Which is good... Unless you don't like hamsters?"

"I don't mind."

Satoru sighed in relief. "Good, good. Next are your eyebrows. Bear with me here, it'll make sense. Now, they're special because last time I remember they'd hide under your hair. But it looks like you shortened the tips of your hair and made some room for the eyebrows to take." He stared at Kayo's face again for a few seconds and then ducked his head down, bright red appearing on his cheeks. "I-I think they look cute. I can tell your grandmother takes good care of you."

Kayo hummed in affirmation and elaborated, "She does her best. But then she does so much and I can't help feeling guilty about it. Since I was never raised by her though I wish I was, I'm not used to her kindness. Maybe I'll become spoiled before I can forget about my guilt."

"Even so, you deserve to be spoiled. Anything better than your old lifestyle is OK in my book," Satoru said, hoping Kayo can see the positives in her current circumstances.

"I know. Still doesn't fix my guilt but I can at least thank her everyday. Just..." She deeply sighed, looking at the Green Rose in her hands. "I don't have anybody to talk with about this. You're the only one I've actually talked to."

He was kinda shocked and worried. She couldn't talk to anybody? Does that mean she has no friends or friends she can trust? He remembered when he first approached her a year ago. Kayo seemed to have little to no presence in the classroom and was bullied by girls in the same class. Is that ongoing, even though she seemed much happier and more talkative? Perhaps, that's just because he's here. "If you need somebody there for you, come visit me, OK?"

Kayo silently nodded and brushed her hair aside, revealing her left ear. However, her eyes were still downcasted. "Are you finished with the features?"

"Wha? Ah, that's right! I'm on number four, I think?" He totally forgot about the last two features. "You're very pretty now because... You smile a lot. Yeah, you do now, more than ever. Hmph, I remember how gloomy you used to be."

Kayo giggled at the gloomy comment, mostly because it was true.

"See? You have a really nice smile." The last feature had to be special, more than the previous features combined. As he thought long and hard for a great answer, Satoru nearly forgot about his Green Rose in his right hand. Suddenly, a brilliant plan formed inside his mind. Brilliant and embarrassing. "Kayo? Could you move closer?"

She hesitantly complied.

"Now this is definitely new AND pretty."

"Why?"

In one swift movement, Satoru placed the Green Rose on her left ear and marvelled at Kayo's new look. "I admit, it would've looked better with a red rose but you still look great."

"..."

Fearing for the worst, Satoru assumed she didn't like it but then Kayo fell into a huge fit of laughter. To say Satoru was shocked is an understatement. Laughter died when she continued talking to the boy. "Sorry. *chuckles* It's just I never thought you'd be this smooth." She had one final laugh before she carried on. "I'm having a lot of fun. More than I expected. Thank you, Satoru."

"No problem. I mean, all I did was tell you how pretty you are."

Kayo shook her head. "That's not what I mean. A year ago, you saved me from that terrible house and gave me a chance to live my own life. Even now, you're helping me and I came because I thought you needed someone. Turns out I needed you."

"No, that's not true." Satoru's tone became serious. "We needed each other. Both then and now, you saved me, too. Before we met, I was alone. Even though I had friends, the laughs and smiles I shared were fake. But after I got to know you, you showed me the value of friends through our lonely friendship. Now we aren't alone anymore. I can share the good and the bad with you, Kenya, Kazu, Hiromi, Osamu and Yuuki without faking it. Where nearly everything we have between each other is genuine and real. All because of you. Thank you, Kayo."

Stunned, Kayo simply stared at Satoru. She hadn't seen this side of the boy before. Usually, he would present himself as a relatively normal child with no signs of insecurities. But if this was the real Satoru talking, then Kayo has a lot more to learn about her first friend. Shaking off her surprise, she reached out to Satoru and placed her own flower on his right ear. "Now, we both look pretty. Don't you think?"

Satoru shined a toothy smile and remarked, "Well, actually I'm fabulous and WAY prettier than you."

The two laughed and smiled without any of their past insecurities getting the best of them. They continued chatting, learning new things about one another. Satoru found out Kayo had been attending his school again about two months ago whilst Kayo found out about Satoru's admiration for Jun Shiratori AKA Yuuki. They would've talked for hours if it wasn't for Kayo's grandmother coming to pick her up with Satoru's mother by her side.

But before she left, Satoru promised her that he would come back to school soon and the first thing he'll do is hang out with her even during class. Kayo acknowledged this and gave him a hug. Waving her goodbye, the boy saw their vehicle driving off into the distance. He turned to his mother and said, "Mom, I want to get back to school. Soon. Do you think it's possible?"

Sachiko answered confidently, "Of course. But only you are capable of getting that far."

Humming in agreement, Satoru rolled back to the rehabilitation room. Just before he could do any sort of training, Sachiko commented on his flower. After explaining how a couple of nurses found bees in some flowers in the gardens, the mother and son turned blue when they heard a faint buzzing sound.

The next day, the story of a mother pushing her son in a wheelchair at lightning speeds, both running away from a small bee became a well-known tale to all patients and the hospital staff alike.

THE END


	4. Changes

AN: Sorry for the long wait. School can be a bit tedious at times so again I apologise. Also this chapter and the next chapter are probably the most hardest chapters to write because no matter what they feel incomplete to me. As if I didn't put any effort in them. Hopefully, the feeling disappears soon. But, now that this chapter is finished, please just enjoy the read.

* * *

A Hero is Never Alone

Chapter 4: Changes

"Is your hair slicked back?" Sachiko asked, leaning on her kitchen bench. She waited for Satoru's response while drinking her coffee. It was a bright and sunny Monday morning, filling the inside of the Fujinuma household with a soft, golden warmth. This was one of the few things Sachiko loved about Spring. Waking up with a beautiful sunshine, feeling nice and toasty. Almost makes a person fall asleep again. She let out a silent yawn and rubbed the sand out of her eyes. Not knowing the time, she looked at the clock on the wall. The time was 8:17 AM, more than half an hour till her son starts school.

Hearing her son's footsteps, Sachiko turned around and got a full view of Satoru's new look.

With his face red with embarrassment, the boy had a bright red bowtie fitted onto his collar, his hair slicked back with hair gel and wore a dark blue tux jacket over a white blouse and a pair of short, black dress pants. He was rather... dashing. That's putting it lightly, though.

With a huge grin, Sachiko marvelled how "cute" he was. "I should've done this years ago. Can't believe I missed so many opportunities. Your elementary graduation, your first school dance and all of the past photo days. You just look so adorable!"

Satoru chuckled nervously. Inside his mind, he prayed to not EVER wear this outfit again. "Y-Yeah, sure. Just when did you get these clothes?"

"On Thursday."

"But I didn't go with you. How come you know what size I am?"

"Honey, I had taken care of you for about a year. How else would I know your size? I've helped your muscles, feed you, clean you after you either peed or pooped yourself—"

That crossed the line. "Okay, I don't need to know that. At all. So please, stop."

Sachiko smiled triumphantly, feeling proud of her achievements. "Now, after I get dressed, we can go. Here are the keys. Wait in the car for me, okay?"

"Okay." Satoru walked and took his black schoolbag out of the house.

Seeing him off, his mother lost her smile. She thought back to three months ago, when the boy woke up from the year-long coma. Despite making good progress with his physical exercises, Satoru experienced strange dreams and suffered from them, to the point where he'd lose sleep. Apparently these dreams were filled with nothing but colours fighting over each other. He'd wake up before the fight ends. His doctor said it could be his memories coming back and are trying to take form in his dreams.

What Sachiko didn't like was the possible meanings within these dreams. In case his memories were lost, she quizzed him daily about his favourite food, his favourite type of music, his superhero shows and his friends. The only things she didn't ask were school and his old homeroom teacher. Not willing to bring back horrible memories, the woman stayed quiet about them, especially the accident.

In present day, Sachiko searched her wardrobe for a little black box. "Where did it go? I swear, I put the damn thing next to the door. Then again, that was eight months ago. Ah, there it is." When she found it, she hesitated before she finally opened it. Inside, there was an envelope, lying on top of a pile of photos with a signature which read "The Sugita Family".

With a saddened expression, she looked at the letter and sighed. "Not yet," she muttered, closing the box. "Not until he's ready." Sachiko hid it on top of her shelf, covering a sheet over the box. "Whenever that is," she added.

Perhaps this was for Satoru's own good. Maybe, he doesn't need to know yet. After all, with the strange dreams, her son didn't need more stress on his mind. She just hoped that, as his mother, she could help him, any way possible. Only when the time comes.

After picking the perfect outfit to wear, Sachiko drove the boy to his school in nearly 20 minutes. Satoru stayed seated in the passenger seat, staring aimlessly through his window. His face bored a nervous, tensed expression. It was over a year ago since he came back. 18 years from the future, in 2006. An unpleasant feeling formed inside, causing him to doubt whether he can live out his childhood again. There was too much he missed with so little to work on. How can he ever hope to gain back what he lost?

His mother took notice. "Getting cold feet? This is your first day back."

Satoru broke away from his thoughts and responded with a sheepish chuckle. "That easy to read? It's just I didn't get much sleep last night. You know, the dreams again," he said, half-lying. To be honest, he'd rather not think about that.

"Really? Because I think you're worried about not catching up with your friends since you were gone for more than a year."

Satoru's suprised expression revealed his true feelings.

Sachiko continued, "There's nothing to worry about. I won't lie, though. You did miss alot and it will be tough to set your life back to normal. But remember this: There are some things in life that never change." She pointed to his window, saying, "Try and take value of them."

Satoru stared out of his window in the direction she pointed to and saw what she was talking about.

Standing in a group, Satoru's friends waited at the school entrance. Kenya wore a dark blue T-shirt and a pair of denim jeans, waiting patiently with his hands in his pockets and holding a small smile. Kazu had a huge grin on his face, showing off his pearly-white teeth. His yellow and black polo shirt made him look like a bumblebee, especially with his black pants. Osamu, the only one talking, changed his old glasses with a new pair customized with bright orange rims. His shirt was white with green and black stripes across his chest and also wore black pants.

Seeing them again filled Satoru with confidence. He did find it strange though how he couldn't see Hiromi Sugita. Maybe he was waiting inside the school?

Sachiko hadn't stopped speaking, "Just promise me one thing, Satoru."

He paid close attention, wondering what she wanted.

With a soft smile, she said, "Don't give up. If things look scary, try to overcome them. And if you fail and fall back? You know who can pick you back up."

Not letting his mother down, Satoru nodded, promising to do everything he can to persevere. "Don't worry. I won't do anything I know I can't handle." After their goodbyes were said, the boy left the vehicle with his head up high and his schoolbag strapped to his back.

Watching his mother drive off, Satoru waved at the vehicle as it left the parking lot. Standing silently still for a few seconds, he kept walking towards his friends. When he approached their line of sight, the trio quickly ran to him. As they came closer and the distance between them grew smaller, Satoru lost his confidence and started sweating profusely.

His fears became real as the trio tackled the poor boy down to the ground. "Uffuh!" Satoru grunted, feeling the air in his lungs suddenly fly out along with any warm emotions he had for his friends. Now there was only pain. "Ugh... Hey, guys. Long time no see."

Other students kept walking without missing a beat around the collapsed group with only confused stares. Kenya was the first to stand up. "Sorry. Guess we got carried away," he giggled, stretching his hand out to help Satoru up.

Satoru accepted the offer and wiped the dirt off his shorts. "You guys know I got out of the hospital like a week ago, right?" But he knew he couldn't stay mad at the boys so, for now, no harm done. "So were you guys waiting for me?"

"Naaaah. We were waiting for our other friend who just got out of a coma— What do you think, man?!" Kazu snidely remarked. He then brought his left arm in and opened his hand, snapping his fingers so Satoru could look down and shake it. Both boys shook hands and changed to their right hands for another handshake. This time it would test each other's strength. Fitting their palms into the other's hand, Kazu and Satoru tightly clenched their fingers, tensing their biceps while doing this. "Seems like you're back to full strength. Though I still have a better grip."

Satoru's gaze turned steely cold and his mouth formed a cruel smirk. "Of course. I told my doctor I needed to come back after I'd recovered and that's exactly what I did. Did you think I'd return in a wheelchair? Gotta have some faith in me."

The pair continued staring at each other and began laughing villainously, as if they practiced. Kenya and Osamu shared blank looks as they watched the manly duo. "They're in their own little world, aren't they?" Osamu thought aloud.

The most level-minded out of the group nodded. "Yeah. Makes us look unimpressive."

As soon as he answered, the manly duo broke away from their handshake. Osamu took advantage of this, seeing an opportunity for conversation. "Hey, Satoru! I forgot to mention this earlier but what's up with the clothes? You look kinda like a child detective, if you wore glasses."

The boy in question didn't answer. He just stared, seemingly studying Osamu's face. "Who are you again?"

Osamu was shocked. "WHAT?! It's me, Osamu!"

"Hmm." That information was ineffective.

"One of your closest friends?"

"Hmm." Satoru has gained no damage.

"Remember?"

Satoru wasn't convinced and his doubtful expression hasn't changed. "Don't think so. You look more like one of those mob characters from Speed Racer."

"Aah..." The bespectacled boy gasped. The very harsh remark was very effective!

Feeling his crushed confidence continuing to fight on, Osamu asked the others for help. "Kazu! Help! Me! Out!" The boy literally begged for support.

Kazu, not knowing how he got involved, put his own account into the mix. "Satoru, this guy's been here since day one. He's irreplacable! I mean, he... hangs out with us most of the time. A-and he... is a funny guy? Oh, remember that time he introduced you to Kenya? He was the reason you guys met!"

"Actually, you're the one who introduced Satoru to me, Kazu," Kenya interjected.

"Oh... That's right. Uhhh..." Lost for words, Kazu gave up. "I give up. Sorry, Osamu. But, yeah, who are you again?"

"Betrayal Attack" was extremely effective!

"FOUR-EYES" OSAMU lost!

"DORKY" SATORU, "STUCK-UP" KENYA AND "KRAZY" KAZU win!

Dejected, Osamu hung his head low with slouched shoulders. "Am I actually boring? I thought I was the life of the party," he muttered, feeling despair over his lack of character. Will anyone give the miserable boy some sympathy? Not Satoru.

Uninterested in his friend's depressed state, Satoru continued the conversation, not bothering to clean up the mess he made. "Hey, Kenya! Glad to see you," said Satoru happily, his fist raised between them.

"The feeling's mutual," Kenya replied before he bumped his own fist with Satoru's. "Even though we saw each other just yesterday."

"Yeah, whatever." Satoru shrugged. "This is the first time we've seen each other at school."

The pair began walking past the school entrance with a jolly Kazu and a downtrodden Osamu following behind. Satoru asked, "So, Kenya, has there been any changes since I've been gone?"

"Other than the teachers going crazy about the "Yashiro Case" and the police coming over to the school for regular check-ups? No, not much has changed." Kenya placed his hand on his chin, sporting a thoughtful expression. "Wait. Maybe I'm forgetting something. Hmm..."

Not particularly concerned over what Kenya has to say, Satoru looked forward and walked silently along the edge of the concrete pathway. Taking a step into the sunlight, he raised his hand over his eyes to block out the sun's rays. Still, the blindingly, bright light carried a gentle warmth that enveloped around Satoru's figure, making him feel all sorts of warmth and fuzziness. "Man, this is nice," the boy commented.

But he stopped in his tracks. There he saw someone standing in front of a tree. Someone familiar.

Wearing a bright red T-shirt and a white skirt, a girl strapped with a red, leather backpack appeared to be waiting. Her arms folded, the girl seemed to be getting impatient, shown by her arms being crossed together and her finger tapping repeatedly on top of her arm.

Satoru's face broadened with a wide smile. He wanted to call out to her and say hello. "Hey, Ka-!"

At that moment, someone had interrupted him from behind. "Satoru?"

He turned around, only to find an older Misato Yanagihara standing before him, her jaw dropped. He too was awfully surprised by her arrival and even moreso by how she has changed. No longer tying her hair up into twin-tails, Misato opted it out for a short ponytail and revealed more of her ears, one of them being pierced with a stud earring. She also wore a small amount of mascara and seemed to have applied some blush to give herself rosy-tinted cheeks. Her outfit consisted of bangles, straps and jewellery all over her clothes, making her appearance almost doll-like. Adding the knee-high leather boots into the mix, calling her a delinquent wouldn't be too far from the truth. Either that or a rockstar.

Satoru was at a loss for words. Should he just say hi or point out the elephant in the room? Shaking off his surprise, Satoru gave her a small, short wave and said with a puzzled expression, "Wow. Just... Wooow. Exactly what happened to you?!"

"I could say the same thing about you! Seriously, where have you been?" Misato cried with a shrill laugh.

Satoru deadpanned, "I was in a coma!"

She shrugged with a "know-it-all" look. "It happens." Ignoring the boy's astonished expression, Misato re-adjusted her backpack and started walking. "Anyways, see you later, dork!" She said with a wink.

Seeing her off, Satoru just scratched his head in confusion. "Okay, what just happened?" He looked to his friends but they couldn't help. Silently, they were all looking to the left, as if ignoring some great tragedy. Satoru become even more bewildered by this new event. "Wait, wha-what's going on? What happened to you guys?"

They stood still for approximately eight seconds before Kazu bumped his elbow into Kenya's left arm. Sighing, Kenya explained the ordeal while he gently rubbed his arm. "It was about a year ago, a few months into your coma, when something changed in Misato. Nobody noticed at first but she acted... differently towards the teachers and adults in general. I don't know the details but it seems like she's hanging out with some bad people who are giving her terrible advice. Did you see the stuff she was wearing?"

Satoru nodded, "Who wouldn't? With those things on, she sticks out like a lighthouse."

Kenya stroked his chin while his eyes seemed analytical. "Well, apparently that's their own little dress code they made up. If you see anyone else wearing the stuff, those are the members of the group. They also have a motto: "Stick it to the system." You can guess what that means, can't you?"

"Hmm. "Stick it to the system?" Sounds like a bad rock song title. But I think it means to just be against school and the government and stuff like that, right?" Satoru tried to think back to his original childhood and wondered if a group like this ever existed in his time. But, alas, to no avail. Nothing seemed to come to mind.

Kenya continued his explanation, "That's exactly it. They're against everything that has to do with the government. Disobeying school rules and state laws, creating petition events where people sign their names in support for whatever topic they've chosen and rallying the entire group together for a strike. This is what they do on a monthly basis."

Confused, Satoru asked, "Is it that bad? Because it doesn't seem like they're doing too much harm."

"I don't know about people getting harmed." Kazu shrugged, "But I do know that most of the members are usually from around our age group to even people in their mid-twenties. Nobody knows how the group works or who's in charge. It's the mystery that makes the group almost too good to be true. I just hope they don't try to take over the world."

"Or, more importantly, our school life!" Osamu said with a cheeky smile.

A silence had passed after Osamu's joke. All eyes were on the bespectabled boy whose smile grew bigger.

Satoru accidentally let out a chuckle and began laughing heartily with the other boys following his example soon after. "That was a good one. You know, you should try to be a comedian instead of working on the Mach 7," Satoru remarked, wiping a tear out of his eye.

"Another Speed Racer joke, seriously?! Also, it's the Mach 5!" Osamu retorted on cue.

The gang's laughter became stronger after the pair's argument, with even Osamu getting rid of his grumpy and sad attitude and started joining in on the laughter. Then, as the laughter died down, Kenya checked the time on his wristwatch. "Hey, guys? We only have a few minutes before class starts. Let's go."

The two boys nodded in agreement while Satoru scratched the back of his head sheepishly and asked, "Man, it's that time already? Geez, Hiromi's losing his chance to shine! How long is he going to keep me waiting for, huh?"

The reaction he got wasn't one he expected. Instead of the boys mirroring his complaints, Kenya, Kazu and Osamu lost their smiling faces and switched to a much subdued and quiet expression. The happy atmosphere disappeared, leaving an awkward silence behind with Satoru in the middle. "Um, guys?"

Kenya bowed his head and quietly said, "Sorry, but he's not here at school."

"Oh. So, did he take the day off?"

"It's a bit complicated. I'll talk you about it after school." Kenya's words shocked both Kazu and Osamu with Kazu immediately taking action.

"Hold on! You promised we'd tell him after he gets settled. Why change the plan now?" Kazu calmly asked, but inside he's losing it.

Kenya answered back with an unintentionally mean tone, "There never was a plan! We just wanted to stall for time. But we don't need to."

Not liking the mood of the conversation or whatever it's leading up to, Satoru quickly stopped the two from arguing any further. "How about we stop now? Does that sound alright?" His reccomendation was answered with the revival of the gang' smiles, though they were smaller now. "Good. Well, later, guys," he said with a small wave. Then, most of the gang walked away, leaving Satoru behind.

He stayed because he had some unfinished business he had to take care of. Deciding he kept her waiting long enough, Satoru strolled over to where Kayo was standing. Kayo, who waited at that same spot for twenty minutes, leaned on the tree behind her and had her eyes closed to block out the sun.

"Hey," Satoru said, waking her up from her short sleep. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

She yawned silently, rubbed her eyes and told him, "It's not a problem. You guys were having fun. I don't see anything wrong with that."

"Oh, you heard what we were saying?" Surprised, Satoru didn't expect her listening in on their conversation.

Kayo hummed in affirmation. "That's right. I mean, you and those three are very loud so it didn't take much to know what you were saying." She lifted herself off the tree and stretch her arms out. "Also, you owe me."

"Huh?"

"We promised to hang out at the start of the school day," Kayo reminded him with a soft smile, similar to his mother's. "It seems someone forgot, didn't they?"

For a second, Satoru thought he was in trouble but seeing her smile made him give out a sigh of relief. "All's right in the world."

In response to the remark, Kayo tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is you look very beautiful today," he answered with a smile of his own.

"Are you stupid?" Kayo replied with affection in her voice. Then, she took his hand, surprising Satoru as he didn't expect her to make a strong role reversal. "Are you ready?" Kayo asked but already knew the answer. As Kayo predicted, he said yes and they walked hand-in-hand. They shared small steps with each other towards the school with the hold of their hands being unbreakable, just like their relationship.

The day started out with Satoru not knowing whether he could live this life again. In his childhood and adolesence, with his future changed. But, in spite of this new rebellious group who appeared out of nowhere and the complications in his private life and school life that came from last year's incident, he knew he had to at least try and work through these changes and adapt to them. Plus, some things haven't changed such as his friends and his loving mother.

Losing the doubt and uncertainty plaguing his mind from the drive to school, Satoru Fujinuma felt at peace and wanted nothing more than to spend the day with Kayo Hinazuki. "It's good to be back," he said to himself.

THE END


	5. Author's Note

A/N: If the title wasn't clear enough, I'll explain. I, Do We Suck Lemons Or Eat Them, will officially discontinue my story, "A Hero is Never Alone", because I don't feel motivated to write any more than I've written. My original purpose of creating this fanfic was to simply vent out my frustrations over the anime version of ERASED's ending. That's what it all boils down to: my frustrations.

Heck (or "Hell" for the edgy readers), when I heard Gaku from ERASED was given the position of Crunchyroll's best anime villain of 2016, I thought about making three chapters that talked about nothing but how much I HATED him. For anybody who legitimately thinks Gaku is an emotionally complex and unpredictable serial killer with a diabolical personality, check out Yoshikage Kira from "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable". The REAL villain of 2016. Seriously, who voted for Gaku?

But enough of me ranting. I can do that when I probably make a JJBA fanfic in the future. Aside from that, I didn't think about a proper narrative for the characters of ERASED other than Satoru making an impact on their lives. That's why I decided to give the story over to "PsYchRoxx", another fanfic writer who I believe can carry on with the story. Check out his page and his story.

Sorry to disappoint fans of my story but expect good things to come out of PsYchRoxx's continuation of "A Hero is Never Alone". Probably under a new name. This doesn't mean I'll stop writing fanfics. Just don't expect me to be consistent on timing for the release of new chapters.

Thank you all for reading and have a nice day.

P.S What's your favorite anime of 2016? Personally, mine is Diamond is Unbreakable but even I can tell it's not for everyone. I'm very interested in your thoughts.


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